ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of burnout has been discussed in the relevant literature since the early 1970s (Freudenberger, 1974). It has been described as comprising long-lasting emotional exhaustion, dehumanization of other people, absence of job accomplishments, lowered job involvement, and chronic physical fatigue. A meaningful conception of burnout is that of Maslach and Jackson (1981a, 1986). According to their definition: “burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion and cynicism that occurs frequently among individuals who do ‘people work’ of some kind” (Maslach & Jackson, 1981a, p. 1). They argue that “strong emotional feelings are likely to be present in the work setting: it is this sort of chronic emotional stress that is believed to induce burnout” (Maslach & Jackson, 1986, p. 6). In their model, the burnout syndrome has three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment.
